Waverly parents call for safety measures for kids walking to school after close call

Posted By: Bayley Bischof 

bbischof@klkntv.com 

After a close call on a busy street for a first grader walking to school last week, the community is coming together to keep Waverly kids safe.

A first grader named Gracie, was in the crosswalk at the time.

"My daughter almost got run over by a car,” Emily Wilcox, Gracie’s mom said.
“She was scared. She was really scared."

Since then, Michelle Rezek, principal at Hamlow Elementary School has been walking students across the road before school.

To make sure that doesn’t happen again, and addressing a growing concern for a growing community.

"We have more kids crossing this year than ever before,” Rezek said.

The students they’re worried about live in a booming area of town called the Riley Addition, it’s grown exponentially in the last few years.

It’s full of young families.

"There are kids everywhere, on bikes walking around, playing basketball, football, quite a few children,” Wilcox said.

The students that live there have to cross Amberly Road, which was just widened to accommodate more traffic.

So now, the city, the school and concerned parents are trying to figure out a permanent solution.

"The city cares about safety; we care about safety, so we need to restudy how many kids cross, look at the housing situation, the amount of traffic,” Rezek said.

The Waverly City Council will talk about the issue at a meeting Tuesday evening. But until there’s a solution Mrs. Rezek and a P.E. teacher will be there.

"I just want my kids to come to school safe and I know that’s what parents want,” Rezek said.

Wilcox said having a crossing guard out there has even helped Gracie feel comfortable walking to school again.

"She did walk yesterday and she made it safely,” Wilcox said, “She walked again today, so she seems pretty confident with walking.”

A Waverly city administration said the city is aware of the concerns and are ready to work with the school and the community to invest in making pedestrian crossing safer.

We will have a reporter at the city council meeting Tuesday night, and will keep you updated on the safety options discussed.